A Very Highland Holiday - Kathryn Le Veque Page 0,21

I thought it might be him and now that I see ye, I know that ye are his brother because ye look just like him. I never even knew his name.”

“J-Johnathan,” James said without hesitation. “J-Johnathan de Lohr, Earl of Worcester.”

Essich smiled faintly, revealing yellowed teeth. “Worcester,” he repeated. “The man was nobility.”

“He came from a great line of soldiers.”

The reverend nodded. “No doubt,” he said. “Yer friend says that ye seek the truth about him. I was here on that terrible day when the English were brought here. My fellow brothers and I fought tae save those we could, but in yer brother’s case, it was of no use.”

James braced himself. “T-Tell me, please,” he said. “T-tell me everything you know.”

Essich began to wring his hands in a nervous gesture. “I want ye tae know we tried very hard, m’laird.”

“I-I understand.”

Essich sighed faintly, hoping that was the truth. He hoped the man really did understand because he had much to say.

“The English were brought here by the wagonload,” he said. “There were dead and dying men on the wagons, all piled in together. My fellow parishioners and I separated the dead from the dying as Cumberland’s men took the Jacobite prisoners and executed them in the churchyard. We could hear the muskets firing regularly. Meanwhile, a group of prisoners had been forced tae dig their own mass grave in the corner of the churchyard.”

It was cold-blooded, but such were the perils of war. It didn’t usually bother James, but with his brother involved, he was feeling quite emotional about the whole situation.

“G-Go on,” he said.

Essich continued. “We thought yer brother was dead when he was brought here, but he wasna,” he said, watching James close his eyes tightly. “He dinna die on the field of battle if that’s what ye were told. He was brought here in a pile of men and when we realized he was alive, we quickly took him away and put him in the dormitory with the other wounded.”

James sighed heavily and hung his head, slumping against the wall behind him. As Gaira and Rafe and Essich looked on with concern, the reverend continued quickly.

“Yer brother had taken a bayonet through the neck,” he said. “I dunna know how he survived as long as he did, but he was a strong man because he lived for a full night after he was brought here, and during that night, he never awoke. I made him as comfortable as I could, m’laird.”

James had a lump in his throat as he listened. “H-He never regained consciousness?”

Essich shook his head. “Nay,” he said. “There were times when I thought he might, but he never did. He wasna alone when he died, if that’s of some comfort tae ye. I was with him. I said a prayer for him.”

James could feel the tears but he fought them. This was perhaps the best ending he could have hoped for, considering the circumstances. “I-I am grateful,” he said. “W-What… what did you do with him?”

“We buried the dead on the other side of the church, opposite the churchyard,” Essich said. “Yer brother was buried in his own grave, dressed in the clothing he was wearing, but before we buried him, I removed what possessions he had in the hopes that I could discover who he was.”

James was losing the battle against the tears. “What did you find?”

The reverend dug into a pocket of his threadbare coat and pulled forth a meager handful of things. One looked like it was a folded document of some kind, while there were two other items that became evident when Essich opened his hand and extended it to James. The first thing James saw was the Eardley Norton pocket watch that Johnathan always carried, one that had belonged to their father.

The second thing was the ring.

Ruby eyes glimmered weakly in the candlelight.

“G-God,” he gasped, grabbing the ring. “Y-You have it. The ring; you have it!”

Essich nodded. “The only thing inscribed on it was Fidelis Semper,” he said. “Had there been a name, I might have been able tae find ye, but there wasna. Not on the watch and not even on the letter.”

James was still reeling over the reclamation of the de Lohr ring. The relief he felt was indescribable, the family heirloom that thankfully wasn’t lost as they’d all feared. Now, he had it, and it was his. He slipped it on his finger as he looked up, seeing that Essich was extending the folded paper